23 October 2008

Half MAME cabinet, half pretentious furniture, this new coffee table by Surface Tension mixes worlds to adultise your gaming habit. Available in walnut or oak, the table features a 19-inch LCD, Shuttle PC with dual core CPU, integrated USB and HDMI outputs, 100W of speakers and two sets of high quality buttons and joysticks. With this hardware configuration, you can play games on the table or output the experience to your HDTV.

17 October 2008

Kudos to the design team at the UK-based firm Freshwest for putting a fresh, humourous spin on the concept of what a pool table should be. What they have developed is actually a coffee table constructed out of 50mm acrylic that reflects and refracts light “in such a way that it resembled the depth and hue of an actual swimming [pool] .” It even features a miniature diving board on one end to complete the effect. Unfortunately, there is no word on whether this will ever become available to the public. Seems like too good of an idea to remain in the prototype stage if you ask me.

24 July 2008

If there was a contest for the nerdiest piece of furniture ever made, my money would be on this Periodic coffee table. It has everything a science fanatic could ask for, including the actual elements (even the toxic ones) encased in a thick layer of resin to ensure safety. As a whole, the table is actually quite attractive–and it is sure to be a powerful conversation piece. Unfortunately, that conversation may be internal as your date wonders how she got there and how she can get out of there without offending you. Available for a whopping US$9,500. [Element Displays via Born Rich]

29 May 2008

Jellio’s Candy Table doesn’t actually have candy inside (which would be tooth decayingly fantastic), but it does have super soaker-like squirt guns. Not the new, lame super soakers, but the old simple ones from the early ’90s. We’re not sure if it’s actually a real Super Soaker or just a replica, but in either case, you get a coffee table’s worth of them for US$350. That’s actually not too bad for a coffee table; especially one that you can use to hydrate yourself. [Jellio via Boing Boing Gadgets via Dvice]

22 May 2008

When tabletop arcade manufacturer Retro-Tech makes a coffee table, it’s gotta do more than hold books on Famous Chateaus of the 18th Century and What Things Look Like From the Sky. It has to hold that stuff and piss off your home theater.

9 May 2008

Forget touchscreen, solar powered or even self-destructing coffee tables… Kyle Downes has modded the coffee table into its best version ever: a retro-tastic NES controller. Just look at the sleek lines, the high quality finish and classy glass top. And then giggle at the fact that it actually works. Don’t believe it? Check out the video after the gallery.